Warboss:
The Warboss is a beast in close combat plain and simple…even his base profile is hench and has no standout weaknesses. Any build other than a close combat build is a waste!
W B S T W I A LD
5 2 5 5 3 4 4 9
The only useless stat there is initiative, since he will pretty much only ever wield a power klaw for S10 AP2 goodness. A big choppa at S8/7 AP- simply doesn’t cut it, his wounds are a wee bit low, but standard for HQ choices across most codexes (codices)
Warbosses also allow nobz & meganobz to be taken as troops – very, very handy.
Equipment:He has access to pretty much everything decent in the ork arsenal. The only notable omission is the burna – not for the flamer, but for the AP3 power weapon it is in close combat – that would add a significant twist and versatility to the Warboss if they could strik at initiative 4 with an AP3 weapon. Another key omission is that he is too big to get a rokkit pack so cant lead Stormboyz!
Bosspoles. There tends to be no point in bosspoles on the Warboss. If he is not in a unit, he cant use it as he has no victims. If he is in a unit, you would normally give it to the nob who is less likely to get singled out and killed, and you only get 1 reroll per combat.
You would bring it however if he was attached to a unit that normally cant have it. This is rare and the only viable units that come to mind are burnas (not an efficient choice), or most commonly meganobz.
Core Builds:Footslogger boss (120):‘Eavy armour (4+ save) Cybork (5+ inv) Power Klaw (S10 AP2), shoota skorcha (combi) attack squig (+1 base attack)This guy needs a bodyguard and a transport, simples. He needs a good entourage of boyz or nob bodyguardsto help him survive into combat – a battlewagon drop-off – assault is a perfect delivery method.
Normal nobz are a perfect choice for this guy, as his lack of mega armour doesn’t slow the rest of the nobz, and he also benefits from a painboy giving him feel no pain, and a waaagh banner which increases his weapon skill to 6.
His armour is too poor to survive much punishment against opposing cc specialists and shooting though, and hes too slow to avoid punishment once hes out of a vehicle.
On the attack he is as lethal as any other Warboss though with a heavy flamer leading into his 6 S10 AP2 attacks on the charge.
However, the power klaw/combiskorcha/eavy armour combo weighs in at 35 points…at that point you can buy the next build for only 5 points more…and since your Warboss will usually be delivered by vehicles, and you will likely only run once per game if at all, the no brainer option is to upgrade him to…
Megaboss (125):Mega armour (2+, slow and purposeful, power klaw and TL shoota), Cybork (5+ inv), attack squig (+1 Base attack)Ok, so this boss pack the same thing as the normal footslogger boss, expect he has a 2+ save, but cant run. Nonetheless, a 2+ armour toting Warboss is a fearsome, fearsome thing as the normal ork weakness (surviving long enough to swing your klaw) is not an issue as youll brush off most attacks with ease.
Meganobz are the usual entourage, as the warboss’s slow mega armour doesn’t affect the meganobz who also have it, and the mega armour bodyguard keeps the unit and the warboss alive for a long time, but you will lack feel no pain and the +1WS that normal nobz provide.
Remember if you lead a unit of meganobs youll need to add a bosspole to this build!
He also needs a transport, almost manditorally a battlewagon, as he is simply too slow to footslog it as he cant run. Anything less than a battlewagon is too likely to be blown up turn 1 and leave you footslogging the whole or half the board.
Biker Boss (150)Warbike (4+ cover save, +1 T, TL Assault 3, S5 AP5 dakkagun), power klaw (S10 AP2), Cybork (5+ inv), attack squig (+1 base attack)My own personal favourite – this guy is a beast!
He gains toughness 6, which protects him greatly from small arms fire – all S4 weaponry will be wounding on 6’s. While his save isn’t amazing, he will pretty much always get it with the 4+ armour, 4+ cover and 5+ inv against everything.
If you are fielding nob bikers, its easy enough to get him to survive into combat. With all bikers. I recommend trying to hide them up the board, meaning you utilize the scenery available to you to try and prevent being shot in turn 1 – there are plenty of guns out there capable of instakilling even bikers – vindicators being the main culprit. By hiding in turn one, with a 14”-24” charge range on turn 2, you will usually see you bikers make it into assault on turn 2 unscathed.
Nob bilkers also give the lovely option of a painboy, giving your T6 warboss feel no pain as well as bumoing his WS up to 6 as well. the profile then starts looking even more impressive:
W B S T W I A LD Save
6 2 5 6 3 4 5 9 4+ arm, 4+ cov, 5+ inv, 5+ fnp
Even normal bikers boyz are amazing too though – having T5 and the same (almost) guaranteed 4+ save, you will be able to pack out more bikers to surround your boss and give him loads of portable wounds – you can get 9-10 normal bikers for a unit of 4 nob bikers.
The main adavantage of this is actually your offense though. Although you will find it impossible to hide such a large unit on turn 1, meaning you WILL lose some bikers on the way (despite the 4+ inbuilt cover/armour saves), if you can get most of them them all into combat on turn 2, you can fire up to 30 twin linked S5 shots when you charge into combat, meaning there will be very little left to threaten you in the return overwatch/melee.
They barely need to assault as they by a mile the most efficient ork shooting behind the dakka jet in the army
Lone biker boss:The other build I like to play with is leaving him alone. Normally a faux pas with orks, the main advantage with this is that your manoeuvrability is unparalleled, making picking a combat that is advantageous to your boss childs play. This also leaves your other units free to pick up different targets and you have added a very, very lethal unit to cover off more targets.
Vehicles and small units of troops are the most vulnerable to the lone biker boss, although you have been warned, his survivability leaves a lot to be desired and you will find youself to be a huge fire magnet which a 4+ armour simply cant withstand. This guy dies almost every game, but always makes his points back.
You MUST play defensively with this build, and hug line of sight blockers like your life depends on it – which it pretty much does. Delaying combat by a single turn whilst you await the rest of the army to tie up a lot of threats to your Warboss is highly recommended as it means there are fewer things able to kill you when you break from cover or combat.
In summary, the warboss’s main builds are the exciting and lethal biker boss, and the almost overpowered megaboss – he is SERIOUSLY hard, and the only viable threats to him are swarms of AP2 attackers who strike first. As you can imagine, they are rare indeed. If you give him a group of normal nobz, the megaboss is also buffed to WS6 with feel no pain, although you lose the "+ armoured, brutish (and cheaper) meganobz bodyguard.
Subject: Ork Tactica - HQ choices 
Tue Mar 12, 2013 9:35 am
